Throwing Darts
by kalejay
Summary: A throw of a dart sends Bella to Forks. Fate throws her back Edward Cullen. Vamp. Alternate Universe. One-shot.


**A/N: Twilight belongs to S. Meyer. I'm just having fun with her characters.**

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**Throwing Darts**

**(One-shot)**

I shut my left eye and focus with the right. My tongue juts out automatically as I concentrate on trying to get my dart to land where I want it to go. Even though I'm not supposed to be aiming, I have my sights on Seattle, Washington. Not that I'm fond of rain or anything, we've just never lived in the Pacific Northwest and I'm in the mood to try something new.

"Bella! No aiming! That's against the rules!" My mother scolds lightly as she watches me with anticipation.

"I'm not!" I fib. Then I let the dart fly.

I miss. But not by much.

We both approach the large map of the United States tacked to our living room wall to better read our next destination:

Forks, Washington.

"Okay, let's go," Mom says, picking up the suitcase by her feet. "We're going to Forks."

We leave Phoenix, Arizona, the place we've lived for the past three hundred and sixty five days exactly. A year before that, Pensacola, Florida was our home. Three years ago, Fort Worth, Texas, and four years ago, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Ever since Dad got sick and died when I was ten years old, we've been moving from city to city, like clockwork. Every year on the anniversary of his death, we take turns throwing a dart on a map of the United States, and wherever it lands, that's where we move. Now, seven years later, the journey takes us to Forks.

Dad used to take us on spontaneous trips all the time, letting the destination be decided upon by chance. No matter where the dart landed, that's where we had to go. Dad always insisted that an adventure could be found anywhere. Mom and I decide to keep to the tradition after he passed away. It's our way of holding onto his memory.

However, if Dad could see me right now, running through the forest all by myself in the rain, I'm pretty sure he would have a heart attack and die all over again. My first day living in Forks was clearly proving itself to be a complete disaster. Seeing nothing better to do in the small town, I decided to go for a walk in the woods. Before long, my mind started to wander and I got lost. I may have actually fallen and hit my head, because there is no sane explanation for what is happening to me right now...

I'm being chased by a monster.

A huge mass of fur on four legs growls as it barrels toward me and I run for my life. Its massive claws dig into the earth and I can't help but imagine how much they would hurt slicing through my flesh.

The sky opens up and heavy drops of rain pummel down, turning the ground slippery and making it difficult to flee. I abandon running and turn to another direction of escape: Upward.

The rough bark of the tree tears into the soft flesh of my palms as I scramble upward in haste. I struggle to find purchase on the slippery wood in attempt to climb higher, away from the threat of certain doom. The growling beneath me grows louder in competition with my own thundering heartbeat and quick panicked breathing, and I know that I only have moments left before I die.

I'm only a small girl, powerless against the beast below me. I look down for a better look at what has been after me and see that it's a wolf... I think... Only it's three, _four_ times its natural size.

I make it nearly twenty feet up into the branches of the elm before my muscles refuse to move me any further. They scream out in pain and I start trembling, praying I don't shake myself out of the tree. I hug myself around the closest limb, already feeling the rain loosening my grip.

The beast below raises onto its hind legs and set its enormous front paws against the base of the trunk, causing the tree to shake slightly. I let out a sharp terrified yelp and pray that the large dog isn't able to climb. Thunder booms above. The wolf huffs as I stare, petrified, down into its inky black glare. I'm trapped.

The downpour and my fear cause me to shiver terribly. The possibility that this might be a nightmare has washed away along with the hope that I will survive. I say my goodbyes to Mom in my mind and pray she is not among those who will find my shredded remains, should there be any at all.

Suddenly, the wolf lowers its paws back onto the forest floor and turns to survey the area around him as though he senses another presence. I look around as well, hoping to see someone who may come to my rescue, but I see nothing. The creature then howls forebodingly and crouches low, clearly seeing something that I apparently cannot.

I take a chance and call out for help, though I'm certain my weak voice does not carry very far.

The massive wolf leaps out of its crouched position and begins to run, disappearing from my view beneath the surrounding branches. For a second I feel relief that the animal has abandoned me, but the dread returns a thousand times intensified when I hear the sound of two wild animals fighting.

Even over the sound of the crashing clouds and heavy rain battering across the forest, I can hear snarling and violent snapping. The struggle is very close. The wolf barks savagely and I hear a second creature growling in the wake of its cries. I am afraid to move. My adrenaline is pumping and my heart threatens to crash through my ribs, and I wonder if I should count the beats while I have them.

Trees surrounding the struggle sway aggressively as the competitors crash into them. Since the wolf left my sight I have not seen it again. I can only hear it beyond the thick blanket of branches. The fighting lasts for a few more moments before a heavy thud shakes the ground, accompanied by a loud canine whine of pain. There's a sickening crack and then silence. I strain my ears to hear anything else besides the rain and my wild heartbeat in my ears.

I hold my breath and try to remain still and silent, realizing that the victor could be coming for me next. I'm not sure what to expect, but what I see next was not in my list of possible encounters.

A young man emerges from between the trees into my view and looks up directly into my eyes. His clothes are muddied and have several slashes through them which I can only describe as the marks long claws would leave. Despite his shredded clothing, he does not appear to be injured.

I can only stare at him as I try to make sense of what had just happened.

"It's okay. I killed it," he shouts up to me.

I am perplexed by his statement and I revisit the possibility that I am dreaming.

"Are you alright?" he calls.

"I think so," I shout weakly back to the stranger. Apart from the raw skin on my palms and my shaking nerves I am relatively unharmed. I am simply thankful that I am still alive, though a psychiatric evaluation probably wouldn't hurt.

"Can you make it back down?"

"Um..." I am unsure. Climbing down seems impossible. Instead, I imagine myself free-falling, hitting every stray branch on the way down.

"Stay right there. I'm coming to get you," he says, as though reading my mind.

What seems to be only seconds later he's in the neighboring branch to my left.

"Put your arms around me," he instructs, leaning toward me. I'm unable to quell my shaking but I manage to release my grip from around the branch and he pulls me against his body. I look into his face only inches away and from up close, I can't help but be struck with his beauty. His bronze-colored hair hangs in dampened strands over his pale forehead. His eyes are dark and mysterious, the irises as jet black as the pupil. I trail my gaze down his face to find his lip curling upward into a lop-sided grin.

"Y-you killed that huge wolf?" I ask, stuttering nervously and blushing for having been caught staring.

He nods, adjusting his hold on me and begins to climb down with me as though I weigh no more than a paper doll.

"What are you, like a super hero or something?" I laugh lightly.

"Or something," he replies as we reach the ground.

It feels wrong to question him any further. What difference does it make? I'm _alive_. Maybe the dart landing on Forks was a good thing after all...

He sweeps my long wet hair away from my face and trails the back of his fingers gently across the side of my neck to wipe away some mud staining my skin. I shiver at the sensation, and not only because his hands also feel like ice.

"What's your name?" I ask, feeling hypnotized again.

"I'm Edward Cullen. You know, you should really be careful walking through these woods. You never know what you're going to run into. There are monsters out here."

"Apparently," I smile bashfully. "Thank you for saving me."

He shrugs and pulls the side of his lip up again into a smirk. "Actually, _Jacob_ was the one trying to save your life."

I frown in confusion. "Who's Jacob?"

Instead of answering right away, Edward swiftly slides his arm behind my back and tilts me backward against the trunk of the tree. His mouth finds the side of my neck and I feel a painful stab followed by a rushing warmth tricking down my neck.

"The wolf," I hear him say before everything goes black.

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**A/N: Comments are greatly appreciated! :)**


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